Will the IRS Take My Car?

Key Takeaways

  • So the IRS has had a long history of doing really nasty things to people.
  • In the early to mid-nineties, one of the things that they would do to people is they would call them in for meetings and then they would take their cars while they were in the meetings.
  • They would tow and impound, so Congress responded and had the IRS reform and restructure.

So the IRS has had a long history of doing really nasty things to people. In the early to mid-nineties, one of the things that they would do to people is they would call them in for meetings and then they would take their cars while they were in the meetings. They would tow and impound, so Congress responded and had the IRS reform and restructure. The IRS can’t take your car, because generally speaking there are protocols in place. The IRS is not just going to come by and sweep your car off the street. But the IRS does view your car as a physical asset, and if there’s value there, they’re going to want you to borrow against the car or they’re going to want you to sell that asset. In addition, for a lot of people, their car is a necessary expense for them or a necessary asset because it drives them to work. It allows them to produce income, so IRS agents do look at cars as reasonable and ordinary living expenses because they view them as a part of essential transportation. So yes, the IRS can technically take your car but no they’re probably not going to.

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